I LOVE the kind of cartoon buttons people wore on their lapels a hundred years ago. Aging doesn't seem to have hurt them, in fact the acquired yellow tint makes them look even better.
A lot of these buttons were given out as freebies in packs of cigarettes.
Above, a Robert Crumb button? Nope, it's by Rube Goldberg.
Above, another Goldberg! Did he invent the idea of cartoon buttons?
Maybe not. Here's (above) a Yellow Kid button that may have pre-dated Goldberg.
Anyway, lots of cartoon characters have appeared on lapel buttons. Me, I think a lapel is naked and unappealing without one.
My favorites are the ones by Goldberg.
Here's (above) a brilliant one...one of his best. The design of the lettering perfectly compliments the cartoon.
Nice!
Al Capp (above) did a lot of buttons...
...and so did Chester Gould.
I've gotta do this for my own characters!